Dustin Poirier talks about his UFC career and life outside the octagon
Dustin Poirier has accomplished a lot in his MMA career. He talks to Mackenzie Salmon about his priorities outside the octagon and what it would mean to be in the Hall of Fame.
It’s fight night in New Jersey.
UFC is bringing its next pay-per-view to the Prudential Center with UFC 302, where 12 bouts will take place Saturday night. The main event is the UFC Lightweight Championship contest between champion Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier, who looks to officially win the title and add another chapter in his storied career.
The co-main event will be a middleweight bout between the controversial Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa. The event will start what is expected to be a thrilling month for UFC that includes the return of Conor McGregor June 29 vs. Michael Chandler.
Follow USA TODAY Sports for live updates from UFC 302:
Former President Donald Trump is indeed in the building for UFC 302. Trump, who was convicted this week on 34 counts of falsifying business records, received quite an ovation from the crowd at New Jersey’s Prudential Center.
Trump walked out with UFC President Dana White and was shown on the broadcast shaking hands with comedian Theo Von and greeting broadcasters Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier before making his way to his seat.
One person the former president didn’t appear to greet? Aaron Rodgers.
The broadcast showed the four-time NFL MVP — who for a time anyway appeared like a potential Trump political rival — remained seated as Trump walked past.
Trump has attended a number of UFC events over the years.
Roman Kopylov outlasted Cesar Almeida for a split decision win (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) in their middleweight bout.
Kopylov caught Almeida with a massive left hook early in the first round and knocked Almeida down with another left. Kopylov appeared to take down Almeida at will. Almeida landed some punches in the second round, but Kopylov controlled much of the third on the ground. At one point, the crowd started chanted “Stand Them Up” and referee Herb Dean eventually complied. Kopylov instantly went for another takedown and succeeded, despite the crowd’s boos.
We have the first submission of the night! Jailton Almeida ended his fight with Alexander Romanov early in the first round with a rear-naked choke for a first-round submission.
Almeida had no problem taking down Romanov early in the first round, despite their difference in weight. Almeida worked his way onto Romanov’s back and easily submitted him.
“I said I’m going to finish the fight. I knew I got knocked out the last fight, but I came here to finish the fight,” Almeida said via translator.
Almeida celebrated by busting a dance move in the center of the ring.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is in the house for UFC 302, which is being staged not too far from the team’s New Jersey facility.
But the four-time MVP – whose Jets tenure so far has amounted to four plays but lots of headlines – is not expected to be the most famous person in the building.
Former President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social account that he’d be in attendance at the Prudential Center Saturday night, capping what has been an, uh, eventful week for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Grant Dawson defeated Joe Solecki via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) in their lightweight bout.
Dawson came out of the gate quickly and instantly went for a flying knee, but Solecki caught Dawson’s leg, gradually took him down and nearly corralled him into a guillotine. Dawson was able to escape and gain control on the ground, which he maintained throughout the match. Solecki caught Dawson with an elbow that created a gash above Dawson’s right eye, but wasn’t able to threaten Dawson much otherwise.
Matthews earned his 13th UFC win with a unanimous decision over Philip Rowe (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) in their welterweight bout.
Rowe has an 80.5-inch reach, the second-longest reach among active UFC welterweights, and he used his 7.5-inch wingspan advantage to his favor. Rowe landed a right hand to Matthews’ face and busted his nose open midway through the first round. Despite bleeding profusely, Matthews stunned Rowe with a couple shots in the second round and controlled Rowe on the ground to pick up the win.
Bassil Hafez defeated Mickey Gall via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in a hard-hitting contest. Both Hafez and Gall traded blows throughout the entire fight, but Hafez had the upper hand.
After his victory, Hafez delivered a message.
“There’s something I want to say, it’s been heavy on my heart for a long time: I don’t support genocide,” Hafez told the crowd. “I don’t support innocent women and children being killed for war, or for money and power. We are all God’s children, and we all deserve a fair chance in life. Free Palestine.”
Ailin Perez defeated Joselyne Edwards by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in their women’s bantamweight fight. Perez celebrated with her “signature twerk.”
An official timeout was called in the second round after Edwards was called for a headbutt, although she did not get a point penalty. Perez responded with a spinning fist after the restart that hit Edwards in the face and knocked her down. Perez controlled the fight and had several takedowns of Edwards.
There’s no love lost between Perez and Edwards. A war of words came to blows when they got into a fight ahead of UFC Fight Night 232 in Las Vegas in November, where Perez was scheduled to fight Lucie Pudilova days later. The UFC didn’t discipline Perez and Edwards for the fight outside the ring and instead set up Saturday’s match.
At the start of the fight, Perez reached out her hand to tap gloves with Edwards, who did not return the gesture. But the two hugged it out afterwards, appearing to quash their beef.
Andre Lima will remain undefeated.
Lima came out of the gate strong and delivered power kick after power kick to Raposo’s body. Lima landed 23 leg kicks and 13 significant head strikes on Raposo across three rounds. Raposo, on the other hand, had 30 significant head strikes on Lima, but it was not enough to win the flyweight bout. Lima was deemed the winner by split decision, which came as a surprise to broadcasters Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan, who all felt Lima should have swept the cards handily.
When is UFC 302?
UFC 302 is Saturday, June 1. Here are the times the early prelims, prelims and main card are expected to start:
- Early prelims: 6:30 p.m. ET.
- Prelims: 8 p.m. ET.
- Main card: 10 p.m. ET.
How to watch UFC 302
The early prelims, prelims and main card will all be streamed on different platforms, with the main card being a pay-per-view event. Here’s where to watch all the action and how much it costs:
- Early prelims: UFC Fight Pass ($9.99 for monthly subscription).
- Prelims: ESPN2 and ESPN+.
- Main card: ESPN+ pay-per-view ($79.99).
UFC 302 match card
Main card
- UFC Lightweight Championship: Islam Makhachev (c) vs. Dustin Poirier
- Middleweight bout: Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa
- Middleweight bout: Kevin Holland vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- Welterweight bout: Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Prelims
- Middleweight: Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov
- Lightweight: Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
- Welterweight: Philip Rowe vs. Jake Matthews
- Heavyweight bout: Jailton Almeida vs. Alexander Romanov
Early Prelims
- Welterweight: Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
- Women’s bantamweight: Ailin Perez vs. Joselyne Edwards
- Flyweight: Mitch Raposo vs. Andre Lima
Where is UFC 302?
UFC 302 is taking place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier tale of the tape
| Islam Makhachev | Dustin Poirier | |
| 25-1-0 | Record | 30-8-0 |
| Russia | Country | United States |
| 5-foot-10-inches | Height | 5-foot-9-inches |
| 155 pounds | Weight | 156 pounds |
| 70.5 in. | Reach | 72 in. |
| 40.5 in. | Leg reach | 40.5 in. |
Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa tale of the tape
| Sean Strickland | Paulo Costa | |
| 28-6-0 | Record | 14-3-0 |
| United States | Country | Brazil |
| 6-foot-1-inch | Height | 6-foot-1-inch |
| 184 pounds | Weight | 185 pounds |
| 76 in. | Reach | 72 in. |
| 41.5 in. | Leg reach | 39.5 in. |
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
